Springhouse, PA — Roohid Parast, a translational scientist at Johnson & Johnson in Springhouse, Pennsylvania, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Underground Kings MMA in Newtown, PA — a gym founded by UFC and Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. He also holds an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) certification in fitness and is a co-author on a peer-reviewed study published in JCI Insight (2025) examining a targeted therapy for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. To people who know him, these two sides of his life are not as separate as they appear.

Parast's research at Johnson & Johnson centers on inflammatory disease, with a focus on the IL-23 receptor and its role in conditions including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis. His work as a translational scientist involves bridging the gap between basic science discoveries and clinical applications — a process that requires patience, systematic thinking, and comfort with uncertainty. Those same qualities, he argues, are exactly what high-level grappling demands.

"BJJ rewards the person who stays calm under pressure and thinks clearly when things are hard," said Parast. "That is the same mindset I bring into the lab. You cannot force an experiment to give you the answer you want, and you cannot force a position in grappling either. You have to read what is in front of you."
The connection runs deeper than mindset. Parast's scientific background gives him a particular lens for understanding what happens physiologically during intense training. Inflammatory signaling, neurological adaptation, and recovery biology are not abstract concepts to him — they are the same systems he studies professionally, now viewed through the context of physical performance. This perspective shapes how he programs training for clients in his role as an ACSM-certified fitness professional, and how he communicates the science of recovery and adaptation to general audiences.

Parast holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Temple University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in artificial intelligence at the University of Southern Indiana, expected in late 2026. His published research appears in JCI Insight. Outside the lab and the gym, he competes in half-marathons and trains across disciplines including boxing, Pilates, and strength programming.

His work across science, athletics, and business reflects a conviction that expertise in one domain sharpens thinking in others — and that the most interesting insights often live at the edges where disciplines meet.

About Roohid Parast
Roohid Parast is a translational scientist at Johnson & Johnson in Springhouse, Pennsylvania, an ACSM-certified fitness professional, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner training at Underground Kings MMA. His co-authored research appears in JCI Insight (2025). Learn more at roohidparast.github.io or sites.google.com/view/roohidparast.